Aftermath: A Teen Titan Story
by Samuel B. Foster
Summary: After the defeat of Trigon, she was unexpectedly resurrected, but what does she remember and does she truly want to?
1. The Resurrection

Aftermath: A Teen Titan Story

TERRA

I awoke to a cold breeze to find myself in a dark cave. I realize that I was still wearing my armor from long ago, but as I stood up, I have found a plaque placed in a stone. "TERRA A TEEN TITAN A TRUE FRIEND," it read with a pile of dead roses lying on top. What has happened after all this time? I quickly found my way out into the cool summer night. Jump City as I remember it with the beautiful view from the canyon. But the tower was one sight I wish I could not see, especially for what I did to the Titans. But it didn't matter to me right now as my instincts told me to find some help. I quickly ran from the canyon to find the nearest road to at least back to the city. "I'm back from the dead." I thought to myself as I made my way to the road, but also do the Titans still remember me for the true friend as I really was or as an enemy from the start.

It must have been about 15 minutes until found the road back to Jump City, but I must have been still frightened and confused from this resurrection when a car came speeding towards me as it blinded me in the headlights. Quickly thinking, I pulled up a wall in front of me. The car quickly came to a stop as the wheels screeched on the asphalt and the car swerved behind the wall. I was still heavily breathing when the car made its stop and the driver emerged from the vehicle. It was a tall man, who looked about to be in his mid-40's, and was wearing a casual shirt and jeans. I was expecting him to look enraged about me nearly killing him, but he instead shown a face of confusion and worry. "Hey!" He called out to me as he came a little closer, "Are you okay?" I must have freaked out or something as I quickly sprinted away from the car to a nearby canyon leaving the man in the dust. However, I could tell that he was chasing after me as he continued to call to me. "Hey, wait! I didn't mean to scare you." I quickly looked back to get a better look at the guy, who now showed a concerned and frightened look on his face. But I didn't pay attention on where I was running as slid off a small cliff when trying to make a turn and I plummeted to the ground screaming in terror. I laid there staring up at the sky, but everything started to become to blurry and I began to taste warm blood in my mouth. Everything became more and more silent as I began to shut my eyes. However, I could still make out a figure running towards me until everything went completely black. It almost felt as if I was resurrected for nothing as this was where I would die. I didn't deserve a second chance anyway. Why would anyone forgive me after I attempted to murder them all?


	2. 911, What is Your Emergency?

Chapter 2

CHARLES

I ran quickly as I can to the girl, but she looked unconscious by the time I made it. Blood slightly dripped from her mouth with some landing on her blond hair. She wore silver armor of some kind, which looked damaged with cloth torn from her body. But what was the strangest of all was that she wore this emblem with a black S on it, even in her ears with this communicator found in one of them. "Hey." I called as I tapped her on the shoulder, but she didn't answer. I tried again, but still nothing. After a while of waiting, I decided to get help as I tried to pick her up and drag her to my car. Thankfully, I was able to get her to the side of my car. However, something quickly popped into my mind when I got a better look of her. She looked almost familiar. I used to hike along the canyon and explore the caves when I came across a statue of a girl. "No," I thought to myself, "that can't be her. That's impossible." I quickly reminded myself on what I'm supposed to do and quickly picked up the phone.

(PHONE CALL RECORD: JULY 17, 2005)

[BEGIN PHONECALL]

DISPATCHER: Jump City County 911, what is your emergency?

CHARLES: My name's Charles Earnshaw…um… I have this girl right here I dragged up from the canyon, she's unconscious, but I think that I've seen her before.

DISPATCHER: Can you please describe the girl to me?

CHARLES: Hang on, let me get a better look at her…uh… She has blonde hair, tall, roughly fourteen or fifteen in age, I'm guessing, and she's wearing this weird body armor with torn cloth.

DISPATCHER: Ok, but didn't you say something about remembering this girl earlier?

CHARLES: Oh yes, I once went hiking up in the Jump City Canyons when I came across this cave that had this statue of a girl, but the weird thing is that the statue looks almost identical to the girl right here.

DISPATCHER: A statue?

CHARLES: Yes, but there was this plaque engraved with a message to someone.

DISPATCHER: Do you recall what it said?

CHARLES: Not really, but I do remember there was a girl's name somewhere. What was it? Tina? Lara? Terra? I think that was it. Terra.

DISPATCHER: Where are you located right now?

CHARLES: I was in my car driving home when the girl came up out of nowhere. I don't know, but I'm guessing somewhere east of the canyon, but on the road back to the city.

DISPATCHER: OK, Charles, we'll send somewhere up there.

CHARLES: Yeah, but a quick heads-up, right after she appeared, this stone wall appeared right in front of me and I almost crashed my car.

DISPATCHER: We'll see we can get someone to investigate on that as well.

CHARLES: Thank you, but please hurry, I don't want this girl to die on me and I'm getting nervous…

[END OF PHONE CALL]

Five or ten minutes past until I finally heard the sirens coming closer and closer to me. Cops began investigating the scene and the caves. The paramedics carefully place the girl on the gurney and wheeled her into the ambulance. Patrol cars flashed their bright lights into the night, but I was still able to make out the shape of my friend, Officer Lawrence approach me. "I tell you, Mr. Earnshaw, out of all of the cases you handled as an attorney, I'd say this will be an interesting one once everyone gets more evidence." He remarked. "I guess so." I replied back.

"Do you reckon that she's an escapee of a crime mastermind?

"Possibly, there was an emblem on her armor. Orange with a black S slashed across."

"Hmm… interesting…"

"What are you going to explain to Maria about this?"

"Everything that happened. I'm an honest man, Lawrence, you know that."

"It was a joke. I did hear that you remembered this girl from somewhere."

"Uh, yeah. I used to hike up in the canyons and I found this statue in this cave, but the statue looked almost identical to the girl.

"Odd, but I got others to investigate this situation."

"Well, I hope we get some good evidence about this."

After a while, everything began to clear up as everyone was packing up and leaving especially the ambulance. However, I followed it in order to make sure she's safe. Besides, I found her and I don't want her to go into the wrong hands. While driving, I began to feel an unexpected sense of dread. Probably about her, but I don't know why. Could she have done something wrong, but I'm still not so sure. However, I kept on hoping that I will figure it all out soon. But who is she?


	3. The Operation

Chapter 3

CHARLES

At the hospital, I anxiously waited outside her room after the doctors began to remove her body armor. Many began to get involved as this was like an operation with even some leaving and going back into the room with either nervous or shocked faces. I could even spot some blood on the doctors' gloves. However, after sometime, the door opened again with doctors wheeling the girl to the operating room. I could see that they were able to remove the cloth from her body, but not the body armor itself. After getting another look at her, I thought I could make out blood slightly oozing from the pieces of armor. Were they drilled into her body? The head doctor, Doctor Edgar Paulsen, quickly approached me with x-rays in hand. "I'm guessing that you're the one who found her?" He asked. "Yes I am," I quickly replied, "Charles Earnshaw, Attorney at Law." We walked into his office and turned the projector for me to examine the x-rays.

"You must be really lucky on finding this girl. She must have gone through some awful torture by some sick person."

"After looking at the body, I going to definitely agree with you, Doctor."

He placed the x-rays on the projector and my predictions were confirmed. Parts of her body were drilled into with small needles or nails with some even reaching the bone. I gazed in shock and horror as the doctor continued to switch the x-rays.

"So as you can see, the body armor was sort of injected or drilled into the girl's body attaching themselves to her nerve system."

"An marionette."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like a marionette. This madman drilled these armor parts into her body to control her. A slave or a minion of some kind."

"Maybe. We did notice an emblem with an odd symbol on it. I pretty sure you were thinking the same thing."

"Mhmm."

"We currently operating on her to get that armor off, but I don't believe she requires any stitches for these are only small spikes. However, I am not so sure."

"What's the current plan though?"

"Well, I plan to have this operation continue overnight and we hope to have the armor removed by morning. I can call you tomorrow morning if you want."

"Sure. I better get home actually. My wife is probably getting suspicious about what's going on anyway."

"Right then, I'll call as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Dr. Paulsen, see you then."

I shook his hand and quickly left the hospital. When driving back home, my phone rang. It was Maria as I expected it to be.

"Hey honey."

"Are you coming home yet?"

"Yeah, I had to stop by at the hospital."

"Yes, I got a call about that. You found some girl with body armor or something?"

"Yep, but the weird thing is that I think I actually I've seen this before."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"It's a long story, but I'll tell you when I get home."

"Alright, the kids are asleep."

"Good, I'll be home in a few minutes."

"OK, I'll see you then."

"Bye."

After finally getting home, I quickly went into the bedroom where Maria was reading and waiting for me. I began telling the whole story, but Maria only showed confusion and a look to make me seem crazy as soon as I finished.

"A statue?"

"Yeah, the girl looked identical to that statue I told you about when I went hiking up in the Jump City Canyons. It was in one of those caves and it looked like a memorial to someone."

"Do you remember what her name was?"

"I think it was a girl named Terra, T-E-R-R-A. I'm guessing that's also the name of the girl at the hospital. I'm going to head back there in the morning to check on her."

"Wait, doesn't she have any parents or any guardians?"

"Why wouldn't she? But I was one who found her in the first place. So, it seems reasonable that I show up to check on her."

"If you say so. I'm pretty sure you'll be under another case with her after more evidence comes up about her kidnapper."

"Maybe. I might as well think about what to do first thing in the morning?"

"Well, good night then."

"Good night, honey."

I kissed Maria on the cheek and turned off my lamp. However, it was hard for me to get sleep that night as I kept tossing and turning. But above all that, I still had many questions to ask the girl, but does she truly have a home?


	4. Finally in Safe Hands

Chapter 4

TERRA

I awoke as I kept rubbing my eyes to get a better view of where I was. I could hear beeping beside me and I'm in some sort of bed. The hospital was an obvious conclusion, but I quickly examined myself to find that my armor has been removed and replaced with bandages everywhere that the armor was connected to my nerve systems. I was now dressed in a typical hospital gown and connected to a tube from a water bag and from a machine reading my pulse and heart rate as it beeped constantly. I slouched in the bed and looked around the clean room. A small brown couch at the one, a sink with multiple cabinets at the other, and a small plasma TV in front of me. However, I heard a knock on the door and it slowly creaked open with a nurse in the crack. She opened the door and walked in with a tray of food on it and placed on the stand next to me. "Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty." She warmly called out. "Glad to see that you're finally up." She showed a small smile as she ran her hand through my hair. "Don't worry," She calmly stated, "You're safe now." I look over to the tray to find a small cup of orange juice, a bowl of oatmeal, and an apple. "Typical hospital breakfast-in-bed." I thought to myself. "Wait," I quickly called out to her, "What is the date today?" "It's July 17, 2005 at 9 o'clock in the morning." She chuckled. I was shocked at what I heard, it's been nearly a year since I defeated Slade and I sacrificed my life.

However, the door opened again with a doctor and another man entering the room. It was the same man who saved me, but he was now dressed in a suit, wore glasses, and had a beard and brown hair. "Miss Terra, I presume," The doctor began, "This man is Charles Earnshaw. He is the man who saved you last night." "It's a pleasure to see you again." He stated. I smiled and thanked him for his loyalty. However, the nurse left leaving the two men with me. "Now, Terra, if I'm right," The doctor started, "Mr. Earnshaw and I have some questions to ask you so we can understand where you're from and who's your guardian." I agreed to do so as the two men sat down while Mr. Earnshaw pulled out a small notebook and began to jot down the answers I gave from his questions.

"So, what's your real name?"

"Terra Markov."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Where do you live?"

I paused at that question. I guess I should answer that I'm a runaway, but will they really believe that I came from one continent and arrived in another. The cave in the canyons could classify as my home. I was a rebel escaping from my family after they gave me these powers when others wanted to use me for corruption. For that question, I just answered the way that they would believe me.

"Well, I'm actually a runaway. I lived in a cave for a little over a year now, but I was able to survive. I don't even remember who were my guardians or parents for that matter."

"But what about that armor you were wearing when I found you?"

"Well, shortly after I moved into the cave, I ran into this madman who calls himself Slade, who then made me his minion or apprentice as he called me. His face was masked and his body was covered in armor, similar to mine, and he wanted to take over the city for some odd reason. It was even to a point where he drilled the armor into my nerve system."

"That must have really painful for you."

"Actually, he must have drugged me before he started and when I woke up, I was wearing it."

"How were you able to escape?"

"One day I woke up expecting more torture from him, but there was no sign of him. It was like he just disappeared without a trace. So, I just ran away never looking back until you found me, Mr. Earnshaw."

"You must have been a lucky girl. I feared that you could've been murdered by him if this kind of torture continued."

"Yeah, I guess so."

The doctor tapped him on the shoulder and whispered something into his ear, which then Mr. Earnshaw agreed to do whatever the doctor asked him as the two men stood up and headed for the door. But then, Mr. Earnshaw turned to me before leaving. "I'm sorry, Terra," He started, "Could you excuse us for a moment. The doctor wants to talk to me about something privately." I seemed okay for him to do so as he left the room with the doctor. I reached over and grabbed my breakfast tray to begin eating in order to past the time. Silence surrounded the room for almost a half of an hour until the men came back into the room. They seemed to have a proposal for me so I became prepared. "Miss Terra," the doctor began, "Mr. Earnshaw wants to know if you would like to go under his wing." I was kind of weirded out at first, but then I began thinking of some benefits to this offer. Could this finally be the life where I can start over? I guess this I could hide from the Titans for a while, but then they still may not trust me for what I have done. Besides, Slade is gone for good. He's not coming back. After giving some thought, I smiled to the men and calmly accepted the offer. They went back outside and finally by noon, I was ready to go as the doctor disconnected me from the tubes and wires. I slowly tried to get up, but my legs felt a little weak as I stumbled a little. Mr. Earnshaw came to my side and assisted me out to his car. The breeze felt cool in my hospital gown and in my face. I went into the passenger seat of his car as he started the engine as he began to drive to our destination. For the first time in my life, I felt almost free and safe, but suddenly I felt a sense of dread and paranoia consumed me. Was he really dead or was he still out there? Mr. Earnshaw noticed my concerned face, "What's the matter?" He asked. "Nothing…" I quickly responded. I still couldn't think straight for something is telling me that he's still out there. He's watching… waiting for me…


	5. Welcome Home

Chapter 5

TERRA

The trip to Mr. Earnshaw's place was pretty quiet, but yet again, I was still curious about what to expect from Earnshaw. "What's on your mind?" He asked me. "What kind of place do you live in?" I replied.

"Oh, you're going to love it, I live in a manor overlooking the Jump City coast. Do you enjoy nature?"

"I do especially enjoy camping, even though the bugs can get quite irritating."

"I bet you do after living in a cave for quite some time."

"I guess so."

After some time, we finally reached our destination and he sure was correct his statement. A beautiful manor stood above the Jump City coast where the sun would set perfectly at a window in a certain room. Mr. Earnshaw guided me inside and called to his wife, "Maria? I'm back." He called out and walked into the living room where she was sitting on the couch watching TV. "You have a visitor." He declared as I walked into the living room. The woman had short blond hair, well fit in my opinion, and looked like she was in her late-30s or early-40s compared to Mr. Earnshaw. She turned to me as I introduced myself. "Hello, my name is Terra Markov. It's very nice to meet you." I politely declared. "Well," She started, "I'm Maria Earnshaw and it's nice to meet you too. My husband has told me all about you." I turned to Mr. Earnshaw and he shook his head. When I started again, "So, where will I be sleeping?" Mr. Earnshaw quickly stopped me. "Wait a minute. Don't want to meet the others?"

"The others?"

"Yeah. We have two other kids around your age that you may like."

"Oh, okay then."

Mr. Earnshaw went upstairs for a minute I guess to get the others as I heard talking and footsteps returning to the living room. Mr. Earnshaw returned to living room with two other kids just like he said. One was a boy with glasses, brown hair, and wearing a black T-shirt and shorts. He looked like he was 16 or 17. The other was a girl with long brown hair wearing a shirt that looked like it was covered in dry paint and sweat pants. She, on the other hand, looks to be 15 or 16. "Terra," Mr. Earnshaw began, "This is Michael and Anna." They both waved at me as I said, "A pleasure to meet you."

"Michael is 17 while Anna is 15. I believe you will get along with them very well during your stay."

"I believe so."

"Why don't you all take a seat."

I and the others took a seat on the couch as Maria got up and stood next to Mr. Earnshaw.

"Now, even though Terra is a guest in this house, I want all of you to get along with each other especially you Michael and Anna. I want you to treat if Terra is your long lost sister and make her feel welcome in house. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Dad." Both of them quickly replied as Mr. Earnshaw thanked them. "Come with me, Terra." Mr. Earnshaw called to me as I followed him upstairs to a room. It was a medium-sized bedroom with walls matching my eye color, light blue. The bed was to the right sitting between a desk and a nightstand while the dressers were across the room. A sliding door next to the nightstand lead to a small and cramped closet and another door next to the door we came in led to a small bathroom. However, the most pleasing feature was the large window across from the door, which show a pleasant view of Jump City. I felt I could see everything in the city, cars traveling in the distance, boats sailing across the sea, the sun reflecting on the tall skyscrapers overlooking the city, yet I saw the Titans Tower in the distance overlooking its city. I quickly turned away, but presented Mr. Earnshaw with a delighted smile. "This is room is beautiful. Thank you, Mr. Earnshaw." "Oh please," Mr. Earnshaw replied, "Call me Charles. But it's still my pleasure to welcome you to my home and my family."

"Why don't I take a few minutes to get used to the place?"

"Take as long as you need. I'll be downstairs if you need me."

Charles quietly shut the door behind as I looked around for a bit then letting my body fall onto the bed with a thump. I laid there in relaxation as if I was calmly floating on a cloud in the gentle warm summer breeze. For the first time in what felt like forever, I've found somewhere that I could finally call my home. I turned my head to the window as sun was in the middle of the sky and shining warm beams in my face. I smiled at this and turned my head to the ceiling above. "Welcome home, Terra." I thought to myself.


	6. The New Girl

Chapter 6: The New Girl

MICHEAL

Terra. That's a beautiful name for this mysterious girl. One who has changed summer break for me as I wanted to procrastinate from my book reports and countless work as much as I want to complete them all with a blink of an eye. Yet I had a new assignment for myself… to find out more about her as possible.

One night, I caught Terra watching television alone in the living room. She was slouching on the couch almost as if she was about to fall asleep from exhaustion. I approached and quietly sat next to her as she began to sit back up. "Hey," I began to speak, "You must be Terra, right?" "Mhmmm…" She quickly replied.

"I believe that we haven't officially met earlier this morning, I'm Michael."

"Yep, nice to meet you, Michael."

The way she spoke sounded a bit off for some strange reason. Almost as if she was trying to hide something. "Perhaps it's some sort of secret." I thought to myself. I decided to talk once more.

"What brings you here to the family?"

"Oh… well… It's a long story really…"

"Still. You can lay it on me."

She told me about the night before on how Dad found her nearly dead after escaping from this crazed lunatic especially after encasing her in armor and controlling every nerve in her body. This seemed interesting, but yet again this felt a little dull if you will as it felt she quickly told the story with the minimum details necessary.

"So, where are you real parents?"

"I can't really recall. I've lived by myself in a cave for a while before "Psycho Man" came along and made me his puppet. But then, I escaped one night, found myself in the hospital, and now here I am."

"Well, I'm sure that the Teen Titans will surely find this madman and bring him to justice."

However, as I finished my sentence. I noticed that she began to look tense and nervous almost as if I said something that offended her. "Hey, are you alright?" I asked. She quickly nodded, "Yeah. I just want to be alone right now." She got up and raced upstairs to her room looking like she started sweating and her face turning red. Later that night, as I was doing some of my summer homework, I began to hear splashing from outside. I approached the window to find Terra sitting near the little dock and seemed to be skipping stones into the water. Alone time seemed the best for her, but then I noticed something off about the activity. It seemed as if she was pulling an endless amount of stones out of her pocket to skip across the dark blue water. After a few minutes, she seemed to have stop and walk back to the house. I looked at the clock, which read 11:30 PM. "Time for bed." I thought myself. I brushed my teeth and turned out the lights. As I laid there in bed trying to get some sleep, all I can think about is Terra. How was she able to get skipping stones from this land? I knew that all that laid around the dock was grass and gravel. Yet, beyond all that, I ask myself, "Who is she really?"


End file.
